By MUSTAPHA YAURI

The Depot Nigerian Army (NA), Zaria, has refuted media reports alleging that one Ibrahim Nazifi, an indigene of Gombe State, died during military training at the facility.

Capt. Chikadibia-Viola Anele, acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Depot NA Zaria, made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Zaria.

Anele said that the claim was false and not supported by records at the Depot.

According to her, Ibrahim Nazifi, with application number 90RRI-GO-9017726, successfully passed the State Recruitment Screening Exercise conducted in December 2025 and was subsequently shortlisted for training at Depot NA Zaria.

She, however, explained that Nazifi never reported to the depot for the commencement of training and was at no time admitted into the training programme.

“Consequently, the depot has no record of his presence, participation, injury or death during training,” she said.

The depot urged the Gombe State Government and other relevant authorities to carry out a thorough investigation to determine where, when and under what circumstances the purported deceased died.

He also reiterated that such an incident did not occur at Depot NA Zaria.

Anele said that military training was rigorous and deliberately designed to build endurance, resilience and combat readiness in recruits, especially in preparation for evolving security challenges.

She added that although training environments can be demanding and may, in rare cases, record casualties, this does not imply negligence.

She said the Nigerian Army had made arrangements for a robust safety measures, medical coverage and risk-mitigation procedures to protect trainees.

The depot also urged members of the public to disregard the reports and refrain from spreading unverified information capable of misleading the public and tarnishing the image of the Nigerian Army.

Anele reaffirmed the commitments of Depot NA Zaria to professionalism, transparency and the welfare of all recruits undergoing training to serve the nation honourably. (NAN)

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